2 years ago
Jurgen Klopp shares his ‘honest’ verdict on Rangers luring Ben Davies to Ibrox
Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images Rangers have signed Ben Davies and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp seemingly can’t imagine a much better move for the defender. Liverpool stunned many fans by signing Davies from Preston North End back in February 2021. The Reds were going through a defensive injury crisis and seemingly felt that Davies was worth a punt inside the final six months of his Preston contract. Davies was never likely to become a first-team star but he now leaves Liverpool without ever making a first-team appearance for the club. The left-sided centre back spent last season on loan at Sheffield United but now leaves Liverpool on a permanent basis. Davies has moved up to Scotland to join Rangers, penning a four-year deal with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side. Rangers are set to lose promising defender Calvin Bassey to Ajax in a package worth more than £20million. Rangers needed to find a left-sided centre back to take Bassey’s place and they have picked out Davies as their man. The Gers are paying just £3million with £1million in add-ons for Davies, leaving them with plenty of cash to play with from the Basey sale. Davies will now be hoping to settle at Rangers and get back to playing his best football, as he was at Preston. Davies was presented to the Rangers faithful on Tuesday night as Van Bronckhorst’s men secured a 3-1 pre-season win over West Ham United. Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images The 26-year-old may never have played for Liverpool but he leaves with the blessing and praise of manager Jurgen Klopp. The German told Liverpool’s official website that he thinks this is a ‘super move’ for Davies as Rangers are a ‘fantastic’ and ‘big’ club. Klopp added that his honest opinion is that this is ‘smart’ recruitment from Van Bronckhorst and the move is perfect for everybody, noting that Rangers have signed a defender with ‘top drawer’ character. “Super move. Very positive outcome,” said Klopp. “Rangers is a fantastic club, a big club. Ben belongs on a big stage for sure. European football as well. This presents a proper opportunity to demonstrate his quality and composure. As a person he’s as good a guy as you could hope to meet.” “It’s a smart piece of recruitment from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, to be honest. Perfect for all parties. He has himself an accomplished defender, who is entering his peak years and whose character is top drawer. We wish Ben nothing but the success he deserves and will be following from here as he goes on to make many achievements during the rest of his career,” he added. Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images In other news, ‘Key’: Manager suggests his club won’t sell £290k-a-week ace to Arsenal
Rangers agree £4m fee with Liverpool for defender Ben Davies
Ben Davies spent last season on loan at Sheffield United (Picture: Getty Images) Glasgow Rangers have agreed a £4m fee with Liverpool for defender Ben Davies, who only signed for the Reds last year and has not played a single game for them. It is a remarkable bit of business from Liverpool as they only paid Preston North End an initial fee of £500,000 for the 26-year-old, with add-ons based on performance meaning the fee could rise to £1.6m. Given that Davies has not made any appearances for the Reds, it seems very unlikely that he has met any of those performance-related bonuses, so Liverpool are due to make a handy profit on a player who only sat on the substitutes’ bench in the Premier League four times.
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